Flashback: 13-year-old Christian Bale's first 'ET' interview in 1987

Oscar winning actor Christian Bale is back in theaters Dec. 12th to take on the role of Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings -- but he first caught our attention when he was just 13 years old.

ET met young Christian back in 1987 to talk about his starring role in the Steven Spielberg war drama, Empire of the Sun, where he played a young boy from a wealthy family, captured and forced to live in a Japanese confinement camp during World War II.

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Christian Bale and Sibi Blazic are seen on October 28, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by BG004/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 11: Actor Christian Bale (L) and Sibi Blazic attend the 'The Promise' premiere during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 11, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic)

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 11: Irish Director Jim Sheridan, producer Mike Medavoy and actor Christian Bale at the The Promise TIFF party hosted by GREY GOOSE Vodka and Soho House Toronto on September 11, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Grey Goose Vodka )

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 01: (L-R) Teresa Palmer, Freida Pinto and Christian Bale arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Knight Of Cups' held at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on March 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

The role might seem like a difficult one for a young actor, but acting came quite naturally to Bale who told ET, "I was really nervous, but I wouldn't call it that difficult. I wouldn't say it's a really difficult sort of job."

Bale decided to take on acting after his older sister encouraged him to give it a shot.

"I just really enjoy it. I just sometimes get really bored when I'm just at home and keep doing the same things," said Bale. "At first, it was just like a change really, and then I realized I enjoyed it so much -- why not carry on?"

Even with his new found fame, he managed to stay humble.

"I want to just carry on as normal -- with my friends, they treat me as before and I think that's really good," said Christian, adding that he doesn't like when people find out he starred in a film, "I prefer them just to leave me as just a normal kid."